BROOKLYN, NY – Despite leading 2-0 in the opening minutes, the Iona College men's water polo team fell 15-8 to 12
th ranked St. Francis College (Brooklyn) in Wednesday's North East Water Polo Conference match here.
Sophomore
Quinn Lloyd led the Gaels (4-15, 0-5 NWPC) with four goals, while senior co-captain
Zach Roper scored two goals, and freshmen
Patrick Hudak and
Andrew Brozovic added one goal apiece. The Gaels made four assists with two by senior
Andrew Judge.
In goal, sophomores
Jorge Andres Torres made eight saves on 22 Terrier shots and one steal, and
Sebastian Van Reeken made three saves on 14 shots and two steals.
On defense, the Gaels made eight steals with three by Roper and blocked one shot. Iona drew 11 St. Francis (11-5, 6-0 NWPC) kickouts, while being ejected five times. The Gaels scored two goals on nine man-up chances, and the Terriers made two of five. Iona turned the ball over 18 times.
With 35 seconds gone in the match, Roper put Iona on the board first, followed by Lloyd 1:31 later to put the Gaels up 2-0 with 5:44 left in the opening period. The hosts scored four unanswered goals in the last four minutes of the first quarter for a 4-2 lead going into the second period.
The Terriers struck again with 53 gone in the second quarter, then Lloyd's second score at the 4:43 mark pulled Iona within two 5-3. Three more consecutive St. Francis goals gave the home squad an 8-3 lead at halftime.
St. Francis outscored Iona 4-1 in the third period with Lloyd scoring the Gaels only goal with 5:47 to go, as the Terriers led 12-4 going into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth period, the Gaels outscored the Terriers 4-3. With 2:12 gone, Hudak trimming the home team's lead to 12-5, but the Terriers answered on their next possession. Consecutive goals from Roper and Lloyd narrowed the gap to 13-7 with 2:56 left in regulation. Despite a five-meter penalty score by Brozovic with 25 ticks left, the Terriers hit two more goals in the closing minute to seal the win.
The Gaels will celebrate senior night against Pennsylvania State University-Behrent at 6 p.m. Friday at Hynes Pool. On Saturday, the squad travels to Fordham University to face Salem International at 2:15 p.m. and Mercyhurst University at 6:15 p.m.
